Bruce Kalmick Partners with Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

SAN MARCOS, Texas — Texas State University alumnus Bruce Kalmick is partnering with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) to launch the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development program at the McCoy College of Business.

The three-module program is designed for Texas State undergraduate students who are aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to launch and develop their business ventures. The program offers students hands-on entrepreneurship experience, networking and pitching opportunities with business leaders, and small business development workshops.

"We're looking to identify students at Texas State that have entrepreneurial spirit — in any department — and help them evolve their knowledge and apply it in the real world," Kalmick told digital innovation major Cadyn Perkins, CIE's marketing coordinator, in a video interview.

Kalmick, an accomplished entrepreneur, earned a bachelor of arts in English from Texas State University. He is the founder and CEO of WHY&HOW, a full-service music artist management company, and has built a lucrative career launching and scaling multiple businesses as a founder, investor, advisor, and board member. Kalmick's vast portfolio spans various industries, including music, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods.

His interest in collaborating with the CIE is rooted in his desire to give back to the community that contributed to his success. His philanthropic spirit and connection to the university are central to his altruistic endeavors.

Kalmick previously addressed students in the Studies in Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, which invites entrepreneurs and business leaders to speak with students enrolled in the Studies in Entrepreneurship (Management 3360) course. That event set the stage for collaborative potential with the college. His session was popular with the students and led to conversations about opportunities to get involved with his alma mater.

Working with Teresa Quinn, the CIE's director, and Todd Jensen, Texas State’s Associate Vice President for Development, Kalmick saw an opportunity that would help entrepreneurial students launch their businesses with the guidance of experienced business leaders.

"The dream is that students here are going to start businesses that are going to become known entities," Kalmick told Perkins. "We'll get some kid on Shark Tank."

As the program's facilitating alumnus, Kalmick will volunteer weekly, offering guidance and mentoring student business owners in their entrepreneurial pursuits as well as organizing sessions with established business leaders for additional inspiration and guidance.

"Some legends of Texas State University will be visiting and talking about their entrepreneurial journeys," he said to Perkins.

Working with the college is a full-circle moment for Kalmick, who discovered his knack for business while at Texas State, where he was a member of multiple student organizations, including soccer, the school newspaper, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), and a Hillel he started — a Jewish organization that supports Jewish students. He credits his professional development and knowledge to these experiences.

"I did a lot of business here too," he recalled during his interview with Perkins as they walked through the historic San Marcos downtown neighborhood, reminiscing and pointing out shuttered businesses he worked at and playfully joking about those that still exist. "This is how I started in the music business, promoting shows."

When asked about what advice he'd impart to college students, Kalmick suggested that students get involved and use clubs and organizations to their advantage. Kalmick started a Pi Kapa Phi fraternity chapter at the university and compared the experience to running a small business.

"I was joining a brotherhood, but really, I was starting a business," he told Perkins. "I started the chapter, I had to recruit members, I had to sell, I had to start philanthropy, ran the budget, networked– fraternities are businesses."

He also shared how his commitment to success and the failures that come with it shaped his perspective and why they're essential for the entrepreneurial journey.

"I come from nothing. I grew up in a poor situation," Kalmick said. "I had no job, I had a lot of debt…and I started a business. It was nothing but challenges. In retrospect, what I want to relay to the students in the program, those challenges, those failures, represent the building blocks of success. Our goal is to fail, to learn how to do it right."

The Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development certificate includes three modules — Small Business Ownership 101, Focused Scaling, and Retail Space.

Small Business Ownership 101 is invite-only through the application process. To be accepted in this tier, students must have an operation or soon-to-be operational venture and interview with Kalmick. The program will accept a maximum of 10 students in the Spring 2025 semester.

The second module is based on the outcome of student participation in the first section and focuses on scaling. Students who make it to this tier have the possibility of investment from Kalmick and other investors. Five students' businesses will move forward to the third module.

The third tenet of the program outlines its goals to open a five-business retail space in San Marcos Square in the Fall of 2025.

Kalmick elaborated on the program's goal, adding that he wants students "really to apply the learning. We'll build a program that will spur entrepreneurial spirit. I don't think you can be taught how to be an entrepreneur. It's in your spirit."

The 10-week program began on Feb. 10 and ends on April 14. Students will have access to industry knowledge, including product/service development, financial management, marketing, pitching, funding, and customer retention. ✯